Attention all Knifemakers!.....Product dealers/retailers and/or knife makers/sharpeners/hobbyists (etc) are not permitted to insert business related text/videos/images (company/company name/product references) and/or links into your signature line, your homepage url (within the homepage profile box), within any posts, within your avatar, nor anywhere else on this site. Market research (such as asking questions regarding or referring to products/services that you make/offer for sale or posting pictures of finished projects) is prohibited. These features are reserved for supporting vendors and hobbyists.....Also, there is no need to announce to the community that you are a knifemaker unless you're trying to sell something so please refrain from sharing.
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At this point it's more an ethical debate. I remember reading the above quoted thread back when the sale was first discussed. The better route would have been discussing openly on the forum what form advertising should take. The current ads in the vendors forum are bordering on insulting, and is rather underhanded methinks. I'm not trying to poke the bees nest here. But an apology and removal of said ads is needed at the least IMO.

The AI does not love you, nor does it hate you, but you are made out of atoms it might find useful for something else. - Eliezer Yudkowsky

That is awesome to hear. All the vendors have put in a lot of sweat equity making this forum so great.

I think a good idea next time a big change is contemplated you should at a minimum reach out to every sub-forum owner and give them an advanced heads up and ask for their feedback. It is their best interest to make this site work for you too; and they may have some good ideas for raising the revenue you were looking for that they could be OK with.

I told Austin I have decided to stay, mainly for the community that is here and the positive support I have received through my business email account. Every email has been positive and is greatly appreciated.

The reason I came to KKF in the first place was because of an invite from Dave after the meltdown at KF three (?) years ago. Dave and I have been friends, business associates and customers of each other for almost 7 to 8 years of the 9 I have been in business. In those years I have to come to know a great number of you guys either from face-to-face meetings, through phone calls or forum conversations. My sub-forum does supply some business but not enough to warrant the dollar expenditure. So I was a little over protective when I saw an ad for an amateur placed within one of my posts. So I reacted. My reaction was not meant to be disruptive or cause anyone to leave just because I did but was just my way of saying I didn't appreciate the intrusion. Austin said he would kill the ads and maybe look for other means to raise revenue from the forum which I support. Without that revenue there is no real reason to stay in business.

Thanks for all the well wishes as I was laid up with the stomach bug. It was awful and I am still feeling some of the effects but am on the mend.